Creatine kinase,myosin heavy chains and magnetic resonance imaging after eccentric exercise

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between myosin heavy chain (MHC) release as a specific marker of slow-twitch muscle fibre breakdown and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of skeletal muscle injury after eccentric exercise. The effects of a single series of 70 high-intensity eccentric contractions of the quadriceps femoris muscle group (single leg) on plasma concentrations of creatine kinase and MHC fragments were assessed in 10 young male sport education trainees before and 1 and 4 days after exercise. To visualize muscle injury, MRI of the loaded thigh was performed before and 4 days after the eccentric exercise. All participants recorded an increase ( P ? 0.05) in creatine kinase after exercise. In five participants, T2 signal intensity was unchanged post-exercise compared with pre-exercise and MHC plasma concentration was normal; however, they showed an increase ( P ? 0.05) in creatine kinase after exercise. For the remaining five participants, there was an increase in T2 signal intensity of the loaded vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis. These changes in MRI were accompanied by an increase in MHC plasma concentration ( P ? 0.01) as well as an increase in creatine kinase ( P ? 0.01). We suggest that changes in MRI T2 signal intensity after muscle damage induced by eccentric exercise are closely related to damage to structurally bound contractile filaments of some muscle fibres. Additionally, MHC plasma release indicates that this damage affects not only fast-twitch fibres but also some slow-twitch fibres.     

Students’ educational use of Facebook groups

The aim of the article is to explore educational use of student-managed Facebook groups in upper secondary education (in Denmark). Much research on educational potentials of Facebook has studied groups managed by teachers. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on Facebook groups managed by students and without participation from teachers. As this study shows, students’ use of student-managed groups differs from their use of teacher-managed tools such as learning management systems (LMSs). The article presents an empirical study based partly on a content analysis of 3139 posts and 15,018 replies within five Facebook groups, and partly on a questionnaire answered by 1463 students and 148 teachers. The results of the study show that whereas LMSs were seen by students primarily as institutional systems of the teacher, Facebook groups have an educational potential to be used by students for peer-to-peer learning.     

Correction to: Mapping the field of research on African higher education: a review of 6483 publications from 1980 to 2019

Higher Education - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00691-x     

FHStG und Legalitätsprinzip

Die fachhochschulische Praxis steht erfahrungsgemäß vor dem Problem, dass sie bei der Wahrnehmung ihrer Aufgaben auf nur ganz wenige gesetzliche Vorschriften zurückgreifen kann; selbst diese sind teilweise unklar formuliert. Zwar ist bestimmten Organen die Entscheidung über subjektiv-öffentliche Rechte zugewiesen; deren Inhalt ist jedoch unbestimmt geblieben. Angesichts dieses Zustands der Rechtsunsicherheit erscheint es angezeigt, Teile des FHStG auf ihre Verfassungskonformität, insb auf ihre Übereinstimmung mit dem Legalitätsprinzip, zu überprüfen, und zwar vor allem nach der für die Praxis ausschlaggebenden Judikatur des VfGH. Nach derselben wird auch geprüft, ob das FHStG – wie in der Literatur vertreten – ein "Planungsgesetz" ist. Weiters werden Vorschläge für eine Präzisierung des FHStG im Zuge einer früher oder später anstehenden Novellierung gemacht.     

Fans and states at work: a Ghanaian fan trip to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa

The FIFA World Cup for men (hereafter referred to as the FIFA World Cup) is possibly the biggest global media event. Winning or losing often gives rise to expressions of collective degrees of national pride or disappointment. But, it is not only the performance of the teams that is of significance in this respect; the devotion of fans to the game and their loyalty to their own national team are also an important vehicle of identity and self-affirmation as a nation. Thus, no country can afford to dispense with the travelling model of the enthusiastic fan as a representative of national identity. Through an ethnographic study of Ghana’s state-financed fan trip to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa, we will show how the actors involved (government, opposition, fans and media) negotiate national identity and representation.     

Unfair play in World Cup qualification? An analysis of the 1998–2010 FIFA World Cup performances and the bias in the allocation of tournament berths

This paper reviews the FIFA World Cups 1998–2010 with data available from the FIFA website and assesses the performance of each region in relation to the number of World Cup qualifications spots that the region is awarded. We raise the issue of whether FIFA should be more concerned with the participation of more members from its federations in the World Cup than the financial gain from doing so. Our non-econometric analysis illustrates that the current allocation may be resulting in the awarding of qualification spots to teams that if not unfair, certainly warrants discussion. We seek to demonstrate that the current system of qualification is based neither on ensuring the qualification of the best 32 teams in the world, nor does it fairly allocate qualification spots on the number of teams per federation or any other metric. We conclude with a plea for more transparent allocation processes.     

Bedingungen der Bindungswirkung inkrementeller Normen in Fußballvereinen

Sports clubs depend on the pooling of resources by their members. The supportive distribution of the resources within a club is facilitated in particular by the effectiveness of incremental standards. A basic prerequisite for a fair distribution of resources is a minimum of community spirit among the members. Based on a nationwide survey of football clubs and an ordinal logistic regression model, factors were determined that reflect the extent of the community spirit within a club. The opening up of the club by payment to players and perceived problems with acquiring and binding of volunteers are associated with a reduction of community spirit. In contrast, the perception that the club activities can be continued in the long term shows a positive correlation to a highly developed community spirit.     

Game management, context effects, and calibration: the case of yellow cards in soccer

Referees in German first-league soccer games do not award as many yellow cards in the beginning of a game as should be statistically expected. One explanation for this effect is the concept of game management (Mascarenhas, Collins, & Mortimer, 2002). Alternatively, the consistency model (Haubensak, 1992) explains the effect as a necessity of the judgment situation: Referees need to calibrate a judgment scale, and, to preserve degrees of freedom in that scale, they need to avoid extreme category judgments in the beginning (i.e., yellow cards). Experiment 1 shows that referees who judge scenes in the context of a game award fewer yellow cards than referees who see the same scenes in random order. Experiment 2 shows the combined influence of game management (by explicitly providing information about the game situation) and calibration (early vs. late scenes in the time course of a game). Theoretical implications for expert refereeing and referee training are discussed.     

Predictive value of ventilatory inflection points determined under field conditions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive potential provided by two ventilatory inflection points (VIP₁ and VIP₂) examined in field without using gas analysis systems and uncomfortable facemasks. A calibrated respiratory inductance plethysmograph (RIP) and a computerised routine were utilised, respectively, to derive ventilation and to detect VIP₁ and VIP₂ during a standardised field ramp test on a 400 m running track on 81 participants. In addition, average running speed of a competitive 1000 m run (S_1k) was observed as criterion. The predictive value of running speed at VIP₁ (S_VIP1) and the speed range between VIP₁ and VIP₂ in relation to VIP₂ (VIP_SPAN) was analysed via regression analysis. VIP_SPAN rather than running speed at VIP₂ (S_VIP2) was operationalised as a predictor to consider the covariance between S_VIP1 and S_VIP2. S_VIP1 and VIP_SPAN, respectively, provided 58.9% and 22.9% of explained variance in regard to S_1k. Considering covariance, the timing of two ventilatory inflection points provides predictive value in regard to a competitive 1000 m run. This is the first study to apply computerised detection of ventilatory inflection points in a field setting independent on measurements of the respiratory gas exchange and without using any facemasks.